Your beliefs on:
Abortion:I'm with Bill Clinton; it can be a "tragic necessity". It should be legal but rare. In other words, not just another birth control option.
Affirmative Action:In the minority on NS, I favor it still. America has not shed its racist past, we're not nearly as progressive as we imagine. When one group has been shut out for generations, they need a way into the system. It won't happen automatically for them.
Authoritarianism:I can't stand it, from bossy nurses to aldermen to principles to judges. I will offer anyone the same respect due to a fellow human being, but if they clearly demand more power over me, they'll have to fight me for it.
Conscription:A good idea. When we had a draft, middle class families were much more opposed to warmaking.
Copyright law:On the one hand I take part in associations which share Open Resources online. But it's voluntary. I do believe in intellectual property, but it should belong to the creator of the product and not to their employer.
Corporate personhood:Hateful and unconstitutional.
Death penalty:Shows us at our worst. Not a deterrent. Costly. See "Illinois Innocence Project" for hundreds of convictions overturned on new DNA evidence, proving that our system poves to kill innocent people. Let's not.
Democracy:Where? I have yet to see any. Not even in our New England style "town meetings"; a small group still makes all the decisions in advance.
Drug legalization:Yes. Educate and legalize. Abolish the DEA, free the low level offenders, save a bundle, frustrate the drug cartels.
Economic ideology:I lived in an "intentional community", a collective, for four years and it was not ideal. If somebody wanted your stuff they just took it. All decisions were made by committees, notoriously ineffective. At the same time, capitalism red in tooth and claw has been a disaster, it is the worm that devours its own tail. Self destructive. So we need a mix, regulation, incentive, maintain the spirit of entrepreneurship but punish economic malefactors. Encouraging citizen lawsuits would be a good step. Return to limits on credit. 7% worked well for years. Anything over that is usury. Eschew the growth economy.
Evolution/Creationism:I would like to affirm the insights of science without abandoning my personal faith. I think this is entirely possible but NS seems to disagree.
Feminism:Like anything else, there is something to this. Women have been ill treated as a group. There is still a glass ceiling for the best jobs. But demonizing men is not the answer. We can acknowledge the calls of advocates for reform without making an ideology out of the cause.
Free speech:I was a board member for a regional ACLU. let the Nazis go have their parade. But watch out when speech becomes action, such as when addresses and photos of abortion doctors are published online. At that point speech becomes one with violence.
Gay marriage:The only group in America that values faithful relationships any more are the gays. Good for them. Maybe they can teach the rest of us something.
Global warming:Climate change is real. We need to prepare for erratic weather and higher coastlines. This does not just mean drought, it also includes blizzards and thundersnow. So "warming" can be misleading. In some ways it is exciting; Russia has ice free northern ports, opening up Siberia for development. In some ways it is full of unpleasant surprises. Northern tundra and ice seems to hold many methane pockets which can explode or burn when melted. Methane is a bigger threat than carbon. What to do? Let's not scold farmers for owning farting cows. But surely some reasonable steps could be taken. First thing I would do would be to allow individuals to produce all their own power without being required to sell it to the state utility only to then buy it back.
Gun control:Shotguns are made to kill squirrels and rabbits, and birds. Rifles are meant to kill dear. Automatic rifles with multiple clips feeding them are meant to kill only humans. I just heard on the radio tonight that Obama shoots rifles at Camp David, skeet. It's not hypocrisy. Use your common sense. Which kind of weapon does not belong?
Immigration (legal):Open our doors to refugees. Otherwise be like Canada, encourage people to enter who have jobs here or families, or who possess needed skills.
Immigration (illegal):We hardly have any. Mexicans are fleeing this country today. This is a false bogeyman. By all means let's support the Dream Act. Let's give this group civil rights so that they can seek protection in our courts, which they do not now have.
Imperialism/Militarism:The US does not need a monster military. We can be well served with a much smaller force. I do not have a problem with drones.
Internet censorship:No.
Israel/Palestine:Israel is an agressor state, disruptive to the region and a detriment to any of our policy goals. They are not a demonstration of the values of Western style democracy, as we used to pretend. They should no longer be given loans without paying any interest (interest is always quietly excused; so if repayment, often). We need a strong Palestinian state with UN peacekeepers (althoughwe know Israel deliberately killed these peacekeepers in Lebanon), airboats, tanks, and a coast guard.
LGBTQ equal rights:Long overdue.
PoliceWe need transparency. It is impossible to find any data about malfeasance, or deaths from friendly fire. The police are a real sacred cow. What are they hiding?
Pornography:Pfft. what are you going to do about it? It shows up on the walls of Pompeii, and in the scribbles of cave men. Live with it.
Prostitution:I do not see this as simply free enterprise. There are women in Florida right now who are held against their will, virtually slaves. The problem is not sex, it is power over women.
Racism:Let's not suppose it's gone away. Just look at what goes on with message boards. I go on ESPN.com; whatever the story is, there are racist comments about Obama and his wife and every one of their race. It's disgusting.
Redistribution of wealth:The death of the middle class continues. We need to get back what is ours from those who have stolen it. Or we could take their ill gotten pelf and use it to restore our national parks and public works. That does not mean people on welfare (a powerless group); it means the one percent. Take away their tax breaks. Eliminate their fraudulent practices. Regulate banks once more. Break up huge corporations. Things would even be better if the one percent got disgusted and left.
Separation of church and state:Religion in itself is not bad, but it does not belong in government. The politicians will compel people of faith to act against the principles of that faith.
Taxation:A necessary evil. Be accountable for how it is assessed and disbursed. Limit the size and scope of government. Eliminate what is not truly needed. The New York Department of Health has a full time staff of 64 people dedicated to scolding private employers and schools about obese workers. Let's cut the fat.
Unions:When oppression happens to you, as postal workers now realize, you will discover that bosses cannot be trusted to treat workers fairly and justly. Workers need protection of the law.
Universal health care:
Welfare:Nothing to worry about, except that if you compel a poor mother to work, you had better provide child care.
Worker's rights:Look how the GOP is attacking the NLRB. Let's hang on to the laws we have, and enforce them. Blood was spilled to secure these "rights", which are nothing more than fair play. You hear and see ads about "insurance fraud", paid for by employers who hate to spend anything on workers' compensation. The real fraud is the way the employers and insurers combine to take bread out of the mouths of their workers.
Youth rights:Same as everybody else's.
Rate your opinion of the following countries from 1 to 5, with 1 being strongly favorable, 3 being neutral, and 5 being strongly unfavorable:
China:4
Cuba2
France:3
Iran:2
Israel:5
Japan:2
North Korea:3
Russia:2
South Korea:2
Syria (Assad regime):1
Sweden:2
United Kingdom:2
United States:2
Venezuela:2
Other questions:
What would you call your political ideology?Who knows. Somewhere in the no man's land between Anarchist Syndicalist and Christian Democrat.
What is your religion?Mennonite Christian. neither Protestant nor Catholic.
Do you believe that morality is subjective?Not entirely. I think some morality is with us as a result of evolution.
[b]What is your Political Compass score? (optional)don't know; last I checked I was standing beside Desmond Tutu.
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